Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Remember When: Wanderer

This is my second great grandfather, Francis Marion Martin and his third wife, Nancy J. Eason Martin. They lived in Portland, Oregon in their later years and he died there in 1925.

What a life he led!

Born in Ohio in 1844 he was first married to Catharine Jennie Curry in 1865. They had three children two of which were born in Wisconsin. She died in 1884 in Tennessee. What they were doing there for an obviously short time hasn't been learned.

In 1886 he married Lugenia Dean Reid in Dodge City, Kansas. I don't know what happened to her. Fourteen years later his son, William Albert "Bert" Martin met and married my great grandmother in Kansas so he at least stayed there for awhile. The story goes he was working for her father.

Frank was all over the place. I have pictures of him in Illinois and probably Wisconsin. He seemed to settle down after he married Nancy and they stayed in Portland near his daughter, Lillian. He owned some land in Colorado which my grandmother and Lillian's son received money from up until she died.

When we think of this time period we think about how hard things must have been. He was still able to travel and live in many different states and have little outings like the picnic in the photo above.

Sometimes I wish I could read more from these photos. What was Frank really like? What was his favorite food? Why did he move around so much?

Do you ever really think about the daily life of your ancestors?

Memoir Prompts:

What is your favorite color? Does it change?

Write about one of your great, great grandparents.

Have you ever used an Ouija board?

Make a list of all the pets you've had in your life.

Who, if anybody, taught you to sew on buttons or make other minor repairs?

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About Me

A few things I enjoy:
Photography, mixed media art, researching history, writing, history of the Old West, genealogy, being with friends, Tombstone history, discovering myself, reading, and teaching what I have learned about these things.
Things I love:
My family, my home, and my dog.